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Tuesday, March 3, 2015

It was the big ice fishing championship for The Swede's fishing club the weekend. The ice on the lake was just strong enough to hold all of these Vikings despite the balmy air temperature. Jambo and I went out to watch the end of the competition and the medal ceremony but got there a little bit early so we took a walk in the woods and fished for a couple of minutes in a hole The Swede had drilled for us right next to the dock. Jamie was less successful than his papa, whose team won and who also caught the biggest fish by a long shot. The least successful of all, though, was yours truly who got a fish hook stuck on her jeans, attracting attention in the least glamorous way. That's what I get for trying to be the cool wife.

Last Friday night I had a date with the girls in the city. We planned on going to Jamie's Italian so I told Jamie that we were going to a restaurant named after him. Bad move since obviously he insisted I take him along, which I clearly had no plans to do. He was, however, semi-satisfied with the picture Erin took of me outside the restaurant.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Jamie obviously has no understanding of what Daily Jamie is, but he's clearly caught on to the fact that he is the subject of many a photo shoot around here. Lately he's been taking this role more seriously and practicing his posing both in front of the mirror and, when I'm lucky, in front of the camera.

I can't pick a favorite. I appreciate each and every pose for the unique masterpiece that it is.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Sarianne posted some Instagrams of us using the karaoke machine at her party on Saturday night and hashtagged the company that provided it. Then she went onto their website and saw that the pictures all ended up on the company's social media page, meaning that we are kinda sorta FAMOUS for a few days when our pics will no doubt be replaced by newer ones!!!

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Last night was Sarianne's thirty-fifth birthday party, a super fun karaoke fest that kept me up approximately six hours past my bedtime. So worth it, but needless to say we were all pretty pooped today and not because we over did it with the pink cocktails, but because we danced our dang feet off.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

I've been meaning to make a playlist of the most impressive pop music that has come from Sweden since I moved here since... well... since I moved here. Obviously Sweden has a long history of exporting music that becomes globally successful and, of course, plenty of Swedish-language pop music that never made it outside of our borders because of the language barrier. That's not my specialty, though. Well, music in general isn't my specialty, unless we're talking about a few select artists (Holla, Simon & Garfunkel!) but I've run across so much excellent pop music since I've been here that I feel qualified to create a playlist of some of the best songs by Swedish artists. Some of them you may recognize (Robyn, anyone?), some I hope you'll recognize (we hear that First Aid Kit, Tove Lo, and Lykki Li are making names for themselves in the States) and many you will have never heard of, nor understand. In the last category, Swedish artists who sing in Swedish, I chose songs that I feel are so good that you don't need to understand the text. I can confirm that this is true because, while I hardly ever have a hard time understanding spoken Swedish nowadays, I sometimes still have trouble making out song lyrics.

You can find the playlist on Spotify under the title Best of Sweden, by the user stormbois or create one yourself from the list below.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Yesterday, while The Swede was ice fishing, Jambo and I went to the theater to see Big Hero 6. It was pretty good, but the Disney short before it was AMAZING. With almost no dialog and in less than seven minutes, I was invested in a story in a way that happens all too seldom. I insist you take a few moments to watch this. (If for some reason the link doesn't work, search "Disney short Feast" on YouTube.)

Saturday, February 14, 2015

We had actual plans today, but somebody wasn't in the mood to get out of his pajamas or leave the house. Pair that with the fact that he woke up at six thirty this morning and you have a long, long day.

Jamie is typically really good at keeping himself occupied and during those moments today I got a lot done around the house, but when he was getting a little antsy (yet still refusing to go out anywhere) I had to give him a little direction. We put up his tent and threw cushions and blankets around the living room for a bit...

… then I tested something Sarianne had written about on her blog. I put some rice in a ziplock bag along with a couple drops of green food coloring and then put the green rice in an empty tin and added some dinosaurs. He was entranced for a totally unlikely amount of time and Sarianne was my biggest idol at that point.

But, of course, the calm didn't last forever. Stay-at-home moms are my new idols.

Yesterday after work, Linda and her girls met up with me and my boy at McDonald's for a play/dinner date. Not only do I enjoy a good burger'n'fries, but I was very impressed to see how hands-on Alicia was with the little kids so that Linda and I could eat. She actually seemed to enjoy it, too, which totally makes me wanna either adopt or employ a ten-year-old.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

I swear, two weeks ago I was driving home from work in total darkness, but for the past week it's been hot pink sunsets the entire way home. If they stop next week I'll be convinced it was special for the upcoming holiday.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

I've been wanting to be super trendy and get a fiddle leaf fig for this spot in our hallway, but I've had a hard time finding one. (Read: Ikea doesn't sell them.) So I googled around a bit and found a houseplant that I liked the look of that should thrive in the low-ish light there, all things being equal. All things are not equal, however, as I am notorious for killing houseplants. I'm a bit emotionally attached to the three succulents I've kept alive since last summer and I'm already kind of in love with this schefflera, though, so send good thoughts its way, y'all.

Friday, February 6, 2015

I picked up Jambo from school today since his papa is away competing at the Swedish Ice-Fishing Masters. It was still light out, for a change, so I strapped Jamie's helmet on and dragged him on his snow racer to the hill around the corner from our house. I obviously wasn't the only one with that plan in mind and the hill was packed. Everyone had great manners, though, and we didn't have to wait long before it was our turn. And again. And again. And again. And it wasn't just Jamie who wanted to keep riding. It was SO MUCH FUN, you guys. If you, like I, haven't been on a sled since you were a kid, I urge you to get out there this weekend and remember.